This invention relates to an apparatus for bathing body parts, such as the feet or hands.
Most people experience foot problems at some time in their lives. This is not surprising, considering that many people are employed in jobs that require them to be on their feet all day. In fact, even an average day of walking can exert force equal to several hundred tons of pressure on the feet.
In an attempt to alleviate a variety of podiatric problems, bathing of the feet has become a recognized therapeutic method. For example, soaking soothes the feet and aids in recovery from fatigue. Bathing of the feet also stimulates the circulation of blood therethrough, which results in increased metabolism and excretion. In addition, foot bathing facilitates the removal of painful growths such as calluses, bunions, and corns.
Many types of foot baths have been utilized as therapeutic devices for the feet. Typically, foot baths provide heated water for which the temperature is maintained via electrical means. In addition, current foot baths often provide massage to the feet through vibration of the foot bath. Vibratory massage enhances the therapeutic results achieved with soaking alone by further increasing circulation, as well as relaxing and massaging the muscles.
While heat and vibration applied to the feet in an overall manner is helpful, conventional foot baths are not designed with the capability to target specific areas of the feet. For example, it is common for a user to wish to concentrate treatment to a specific part or parts of his/her feet such as the ball, heel, or arch. Therefore, a need exists for a bath apparatus with the capability to focus heat and/or massage at specific locations of the body. Such a bath apparatus would not only allow users to tailor therapy regimens to their individual needs, but would also increase the speed at which therapy can be accomplished, thereby increasing the convenience for the user.
In addition to heat and vibratory massage, some foot baths are also capable of creating air bubbles in the water contained in the bath chamber. Contact of the air bubbles with a user""s feet provides an additional type of massage therapy. However, current foot baths typically release bubbles only in limited areas of the foot bath, and therefore have only limited direct contact with the feet and few total bubbles produced. Accordingly, a further need exists for a bath apparatus with the capability of producing a greater number of bubbles and providing those bubbles over a greater portion of the bath chamber in order to increase contact with the user.
Therefore, it is an object according to the present invention to provide a bath apparatus for bathing body parts that is capable of providing targeted therapy, including heat and massage, to the body parts.
It is another object according to the present invention to provide an improved bath apparatus capable of creating a greater number of air bubbles within the bathing fluid for additional massage therapy.
It is a further object according to the present invention to provide an improved bath apparatus which provides air bubbles in direct contact with a greater portion of the bathed body parts.
Accordingly, an apparatus is provided for bathing body parts, such as the feet or hands. The bath apparatus includes a bath chamber for containing fluid, such as water, and receiving the body part therein. The bath chamber includes a bottom surface and a wall structure extending upwardly therefrom. The bath apparatus further includes a pump disposed adjacent to the bottom surface of the bath chamber, and a bubble egress tube in communication with the pump and the bath chamber bottom surface. The bubble egress tube has a continuous configuration which traverses a surface area of the bath chamber bottom surface having a width dimension greater than the width of the egress tube. A plurality of egress holes are formed in the bubble egress tube through which air from the pump is directed into the bath chamber in order to generate air bubbles in the fluid contained therein.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the bubble egress tube is disposed below the bath chamber bottom surface such that the egress holes are flush with the bottom surface. In an alternative embodiment, the bubble egress tube protrudes at least partially above the bath chamber bottom surface such that the egress holes are raised above the bottom surface. In this latter embodiment, the plurality of bubble egress holes can be positioned at multiple axial locations along the egress tube. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom surface has a first side and a second side, and first and second bubble egress tubes are disposed within the first and second sides of the bottom surface, respectively. The bubble egress tube can have a continuous curvilinear configuration, such as a serpentine or generally U-shaped configuration, or can include a continuous configuration of linear segments, such as a sawtooth or square-wave configuration.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wall structure includes a contact area adapted to be uncovered by fluid contained in the bath chamber. A heating member is preferably provided on the contact area for providing heat to the body part when the body part is placed on the contact area. In a preferred embodiment, the heating member uses infrared rays. In addition, a heater is provided in communication with the bath chamber for maintaining the heat of the fluid contained therein. Preferably, the heater includes a rope heating element provided underneath the bottom surface of the bath chamber. Furthermore, the bath apparatus includes a vibration assembly in communication with the bath chamber for imparting vibration to the bath chamber. The vibration assembly includes a motor affixed to an underside of the bath chamber, an output shaft rotatably driven by the motor, and a counterweight affixed to the output shaft.
In further accordance with the present invention, the bath apparatus includes at least one massage attachment adapted to be received on the contact area for massaging the body part when the body part engages the massage attachment. The massage attachment can be stationary, or can be manually rotatable by a user. Alternatively, rotation of the massage attachment can be motorized. In this embodiment, a motor is disposed on the underside of the bath chamber, and the massage attachment is adapted to be received on an output shaft that is rotatably driven by the motor and adapted to be accessible through the contact area. Optionally, the motorized rotation of the massage attachment can be activated by applied pressure of the body part on the massage attachment.
According to the present invention, an outer housing is provided to encase the bath chamber. Preferably, the bath chamber is generally U-shaped and the contact area is generally peninsular, such that the contact area is centrally disposed within the bath chamber. The bath chamber preferably includes a plurality of raised nodes provided on its bottom surface. Additionally, the bottom surface of the bath chamber can include rollers provided thereon, wherein the rollers can be detachable from the bottom surface. The bath apparatus can also include a lid adapted to be attached to the wall structure to at least partially cover the bath chamber.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.